A couple has revealed how they saved £3,000 travelling to Australia rent-free by looking after strangers’ pets.
Molly Thompson, 24, and Tom Brown, 23 have been able to go on their dream trip without spending a penny on accommodation.
The pair have been able to explore Melbourne – one of the world’s most expensive cities – by sleeping in other people’s homes.
In return for a free place to stay, Molly and Tom have taken care of the homeowner’s beloved furry friends.
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The couple, of Beverly, East Yorkshire say the experience has saved them thousands which has allowed them to continue globetrotting.
Molly said: “We absolutely love it.
“We knew we wanted to take a bit of time out of our day-to-day lives back home to travel and explore as much of this part of the world as we could while the time was right.
“And Australia really is an amazing country to do that in!”It’s definitely saved us a fortune.
“Not even just the financial side of it, but there just wasn’t any availability anywhere at all.
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“With house sitting it obviously works slightly differently to renting, so we actually found it much much easier applying for housesits and being accepted compared to applying for short-term rentals.
“I’d say overall this probably saved us just under £3,000 between the two of us across the two months.
“Which obviously is money we’d much rather have for our onward travels, so definitely worth it.”
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The pair spent £1,100 each on their plane tickets to Australia from London.
By ditching the nine-to-five grind, the couple have had the time of their lives slowly exploring the city.
In one accommodation, they looked after an adorable ginger cat.
In addition to the home, the generous homeowners – who are complete strangers – gifted the pair their car for free.
In another pad, Molly and Tom moved to the suburbs.
But their time there was far from quiet as they had four dogs to look after.
Molly and Tom were able to housesit by using the app, ‘Happy House Sitters.’
Molly added: “The most memorable animal was the cat in our first house that featured in a lot of my TikTok and Instagram stories.
“We formed quite a connection with that little guy and leaving actually was really hard.
“We got really lucky as the cat was lovely and the house was perfect for what we needed it for.
“I’d definitely say that the biggest takeaway is becoming a cat person before I was fully a dog person.
“I’d never even considered getting a cat as I’ve always been around dogs my whole life, but now I’m converted.”
Although Molly and Tom have been living the dream whilst travelling, they admit that looking after the animals have been a big responsibility.
Molly added: “I think we’d got used to a fairly unrestricted way of living while we travel, but animals are a big commitment.
“Especially when we were in the house with the four dogs.
“It was very tying as those dogs especially did require a lot of looking after – which was very different to our usual routine when it’s just the two of us.
“But, I wouldn’t say it was a con as such though, more of a learning curve.”
As their Australian Visa comes to an end, the pair are planning on coming back to the UK before Christmas.
They’re still keen to continue travelling and have booked a road trip in New Zealand for the end of the year – with a stop in Fiji.
